The Fate of the Gemini Twins
by Gold Saint Mu
Summary: Saint Seiya: Lost Canvas. Defteros asks Shion to repair the Gemini Gold Cloth, and Shion shares some insights into the Gemini Saints. This is partially inspired by Next Generation.  No spoilers intended, but don't you think there's a trend?


**The Fate of the Gemini Saints**

Shion examined the Gemini Cloth. It remain stained with the blood of the first Gemini Saint Aspros, likely a conscious choice by Defteros. There was new blood on the Cloth too, powerful blood that had been mixed with tears and dried by fire, the blood of the second Gemini Saint. Defteros had punched a hole in its chest, just over the heart, an impressive feat considering the strength of a Gold Cloth.

"Normally a Cloth can repair itself over time, but the blood itself was not enough because the Gemini Cloth is dead," Shion said to Defteros, who shifted restlessly. He growled at Shion as if it was his fault. Defteros' manners had gone to hell in the past year.

"So can you fix it or not? Or do I have to go to your master?" Defteros' expression darkened. He couldn't help but to blame Sage for much of the crap that had happened and was reluctant to turn to Sage's brother for help.

"Yes, I can repair the Gemini Cloth," Shion said confidently. The Gemini Cloth stirred slightly and whispered to him.

"Then do so," Defteros commanded.

"I must first warn you that the Cloths speak to me," Shion said. He could sense the Gemini Cloth's worry that it would not be repaired but resisted stroking the Gemini Cloth to calm it.

"So what?"

"The _dead __Saints_ that are a part of the Cloth speak to me," Shion said. "It is not something my master can do so in that respect you might prefer his aid. Usually, the Cloth's owner is dead so there's no conflict of interest. In your case, the Cloth will tell me about both you and your brother."

Defteros hesitated. "Is Aspros...?"

"Yes. He is also resting within the Gemini Cloth."

Defteros suddenly understood why Shion had been so brief in his examination of the Cloth. There were dozens of Cloth around him. Did he hear all their stories? Undoubtedly so.

"Can I... I mean, can you speak to him?" The roughness in Defteros' voice was replaced with a touch of wistfulness.

"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking." Defteros' eyes narrowed. "He's not the same person," Shion explained quickly. "In the Cloth, he is the Gemini Saint; it holds that part of him."

"The good side of him," Defteros said. Shion nodded. "Repair the Gemini Cloth." Defteros added as an afterthought, "Please."

"You're staying," Shion guessed.

"Problem with that?" Defteros' fangs seemed to grow.

"No. No, of course not," Shion said. The Gemini Cloth assured him that Defteros wouldn't hurt him. He knew it as well, but it was hard not to shrink away from such ferocity. "I will need fresh blood," Shion said apologetically. Defteros didn't even blink. He slit his wrists and bled over the Gemini cloth.

The blood ran down the faces of Gemini like tears, and Shion noticed that one of the faces was cracked. Shion shushed them both. Defteros pretended not to hear and settled nearby to watch Shion work. As he repaired the Gemini Cloth, the past Gemini Saints became increasingly noisy. It became difficult to repair the Cloth as they argued about how they should be, each pair of twin arguing between themselves.

"Quiet! All of you!" Shion burst out at last.

"It was never your fault," Shion said to Defteros. The young Aries Saint seemed like a different person. His eyes were a strange reddish purple instead of brown. He spoke with more confidence and authority. "You know that the Pegasus Saint has protected Athena since the beginning of time?" Defteros nodded, curious to see where this was leading.

"Since the beginning of time, since the formation of the Saints of Athena, there have always been two Gemini Saints, and they have always sought to kill Athena. _Always_." Shion stroked the Gemini Cloth to calm it down. This was Shion's first time repairing a Gold Cloth, and he realized it was more difficult not only because of the power of the Cloth but also because of the Cosmos and willfulness of the past Saints. "Castor and Pollux, Romulus and Remus, Heracles and Iphicles, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Elrond and Elros, Cain and Abel—All the Gemini Saints have had one version or another of your situation. Often, one is evil and one is good, or they suffer from split personalities, or any variety of things. They eventually try to kill Athena and usually the Pope as well."

He wiped the tears from one of the faces of Gemini. "Pope Sage knew. This was his way of trying to avert disaster. Ultimately, the Gemini Saints are always the most powerful, capable of destroying galaxies if allowed to develop, and more deadly because there are two of them. It would be hard not to have Geminis during the Holy Wars and might even upset the balance and bring about Athena's defeat. Once they get past their early trials—their evil side and their inevitable betrayal—they are invaluable."

"I don't understand anything you're talking about," Defteros said, unaware of the tears slipping down his cheeks. Shion stroked his side of the Gemini helmet.

"The corruption of your brother was not your sin. It was Fate. Your brother's change and moments of insanity are not uncommon among the Gemini Saints. In fact, they are the norm." Shion found himself stroking Defteros' hair instead of the Gemini armor. "It was _not_ your fault."

"What can I do to make it right?" Defteros asked plaintively, just as he had asked Asmita.

"You are doing it right now. You are preparing for the battle that is to come. The good half of Aspros is joined with the Gemini Gold Cloth. But his evil side, the side of himself that was shot with the Demon Emperor Fist, still remains at large. How this is possible is impossible to say, but it was also the case with Cain and Abel, a strange manifestation of his brother.

"You said you will need to don the Gemini Gold Cloth some time in the near future. Yes, it's true. You know it as well as I. There will come a time when you will face your brother in battle." Shion looked directly into Defteros' eyes. "And that is also not your fault."

"But I enabled his evil," Defteros said, tears now flowing uncontrollably down his face. "I enabled his darkness by becoming his shadow and puppet."

"_NO!_" Shion embraced Defteros. "No, you did not enable his darkness. Asmita can see the present clearly, but he cannot see the past of these Cloths, their stories and passions. Fraternal love and the willingness to do anything for a brother are not unusual or wrong. Whether or not you became his shadow, this would have come to pass. It is what makes the Gemini Twins who they are. Athena knows this and forgives you. You must learn to forgive yourself."

"How can I? You said yourself that his evil side has been let loose. I did that. I killed him."

"No. He chose to die and take with him the evil that had been eating at your souls." Shion looked towards Sanctuary. Rather than speak to him there, Defteros had practically kidnapped the smith and brought him to Kanon Island. "He would have read it," Shion said. He couldn't see but could sense Star Hill. "If he came across any literature about the Gemini Saints, then he would have read the warnings. He knew this would happen and did not want you to be the one to shoulder the burden."

"Aspros left me with an equally heavy burden," Defteros said and looked at his hands, which were stained with blood.

"Perhaps." Shion absently washed away the blood with his Cosmos to add it to the Gemini Gold Cloth. He was beginning to realize that perhaps more blood would be necessary because of the strange duality of the armor. "But he deemed this the gentler path and apologizes if he was wrong."

"You're hearing him now, aren't you?" Defteros said and picked up the Gemini helmet. He couldn't remember either of them ever wearing it.

"Yes." Shion turned the helmet so that the cracked face was facing Defteros. "I will repair the Gemini Cloth, and he will fight by your side, just as he had fought with his other half for his entire life."

Defteros traced the tears on the Gemini's face. He could almost feel a ghostly hand tracing his tears as well. Or perhaps the hand was wiping away the tears of the second Gemini on the other side of the helmet. "Thank you, Shion. Finally, I feel as if I understand who we are."


End file.
